Rottnest Island

The phone alarm woke me up at 5.45am which enabled me to see the updates of last few minutes of Derby v Cardiff City. I thought it was going to be a draw but Cardiff snatched a 3-4 victory in the last minute.It made getting out at 6.30am and the more easier to get the 7.30am ferry from St Hillary's Harbour to Rottnest Island all the easier.

The  island was given the name "Rotte nest" (meaning "rat nest" in the 17th century Dutch language) by Dutch captain Willem de Vlamingh who spent six days exploring the island from 29 December 1696, mistaking the quokkas for giant rats. ... He described the island as a "...a paradise on earth".

On arrival we collected our hire bikes (with a 'rubber band' instead of the normal chain which worked better) and cycled around the island. The island is stunning in its beauty with its many glorious beaches of which we spent time on a couple, cooling off in the heat.


The blip foto shows Mrs BB giving some water to two Quokkas (kangaroo type creatures) that are only found on Rottsnest; they were at the side of the road, seemingly wanting some attention.


The extra is a filmic photo I took of Bathurst Lighthouse (date: 1900) when I was in the water at it's beach. The lighthouse is one of two on the island.


We got back to the hotel about 6pm to freshen up as a friend was collecting us at 7.15pm to take us back to his house nearby. Mark is an ex-pat from the UK of about 40 years who met his Japanese wife whilst teaching in Japan and they have two charming teenage boys. I got friendly with Mark on a photo site a few years ago. It was good to catch up and meet his wife, children and new pug puppy which is adorable.